FOCUS
Fire service innovation
of FRS activities? Could this further unlock creativity and innovation, which would support the broader mission? In our opinion, this will be important for every single employee of the service – uniformed or otherwise – if it is to gain maximum benefit.
Truly collaborative Central to finding better solutions is the instinct (as opposed to command) to look across disciplines and bring together multiple perspectives. This includes having positive conversations, sharing intelligence and assets, gently pushing people beyond their comfort zones and getting to the heart of the issues to uncover the real opportunities. The Policing and Crime Act places a duty
on FRSs to collaborate, but true collaboration cannot be driven through legislation. It only genuinely happens through relationships, a common purpose that is meaningful and a desire to serve the community rather than the single organisation itself. So the question for FRSs is how can this become the natural way of doing things? And how can relationships be built with all potential collaborative partners? The most natural synergies exist through collaboration between FRSs, but there are many service providers, partners and stakeholders with whom to collaborate to reduce risk and vulnerability in the community.
44 APRIL 2020
www.frmjournal.com
Relevant, transparent, open Successful organisations are clear about why they are doing what they are doing, and their customers, users and the public are similarly clear on the same. The relevance of FRSs to emergency response is clear, but what is the position in the case of preventative work? Do communities understand why the FRS is doing this and the benefit it has for them? What might be relevant to the public might not necessarily be perceived as relevant by the firefighters asked to do it. Will firefighters be ready to redefine their relevance to communities in terms of more than emergency response? We are seeing a drop in the level of trust the public has in companies, government and the public sector. Organisations that can buck this trend will have a stronger relationship with their customers or users and are more likely to be successful in their mission. This trust is built by, amongst other things, transparency and openness in the way decisions are made, and this will be as important to the public as to staff and partners. On the one hand, putting out fires has a
clear decision making process; on the other, risk assessments and strategic planning decisions – which may not be felt relevant by communities or partners – need to be effectively communicated and understood. In order for this to happen, people need
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